


In Defence of Helen of Troy

by Of_Lights_and_Shadows



Series: Nico's Shippy Advent Calendar 2020 [17]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Author is salty, Bestiality, Helen was a Victim, How Do I Tag, Mentions of Rape, Misogyny, Other, Pollux is mentioned as Poydeukes, Pseudo-academia, because zeus, cause that's how I remember it from native tongue, greek mythology is ramprant with, in this essay I will, it's greek mythology what did you expect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:08:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28128888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Lights_and_Shadows/pseuds/Of_Lights_and_Shadows
Summary: A special story.A defence of Helen of Troy.
Relationships: Helen of Troy/Menelaus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Helen of Troy/Paris (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Series: Nico's Shippy Advent Calendar 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2035606
Kudos: 7





	In Defence of Helen of Troy

In ancient greek myth, there is no shortage of infidelity; be it committed by men or women. Zeus, the patriarch of Olympian gods, is the most common example, with so many lovers and flings, perhaps he’s the first that comes to mind when thinking of infidelity. However, Zeus’ endeavours are often brushed off; he’s one god after all. In contrast, women are often depicted as the unfaithful ones that pay the price of their supposed infidelity, and there’s no greater example to this than Helen of Troy.

According to the story, Helen was promised as price to Paris by Aphrodite who, as a goddess, is known to treat humans like playthings, as evidenced by the fact that she made Medea fall in love with Jason, which makes her directly responsible for Medea’s murderous acts. But back to Helen, she is offered as a price, despite the fact that she’s already married.

It’s not clear if Helen eloped with Paris or was simply abducted; if it were the latter case, it wouldn’t be the first time she was taken against her will. The first time she was kidnapped was by Thesseus and Pirithous, who thought that, because of their divine heritage, they deserved wives of divine heritage as well. As best friends, they vowed to help each other at getting the wives of their dreams. Thesseus had chosen Helen; Pirithous had chosen Persephone, who was, by that time, already married to Hades. While Hades tied them up in snakes at their descent to the Underworld for the offence of attempting to abduct his wife; Castor and Polydeuces (the Dioscuri), marched to Athens to retrieve their abducted sister. According to some sources, at that event, Helen was ten years old and others claim that Helen was seven; which was still too young even for the Greeks of ancient time, since Helen was still not of childbearing age.

It is natural to think that Paris was also aiming to abduct Helen, who was a victim of kidnapping before; her lack of agency during the abduction could might as well be because of her previous experience. Not provoking your abductor is thought to be a sound course of action. 

Regardless of Helen being abducted or eloping with Paris, it is indeed curious that Helen’s supposed infidelity is remembered more than Paris’ breaking xenia or, as we call it today, hospitality laws. Xenia was very important to the ancient Greeks, since breaking the laws of hospitality meant to invoke the wrath of gods, most often Zeus (as Xenios Zeus) who had authority over guests, and less commonly Hermes, who was the Patron and Guardian of travellers and wanderers. 

Three authors denied Helen’s presence in Troy and instead claimed she was in Egypt all along: Euripedes, Stesichorus and Herodotus. Euripedes, in his play  _ Helen _ , says that Hera fashioned an  _ eidolon _ out of clouds, and it was that eidolon that the Trojan war took place. Stesichorus’ version also includes an eidolon, however Herodotus doesn’t, since he follows a more rational telling. Herodotus, who is often memorized as the  _ Father of History _ , says that, according to the priests of Memphis, Paris’ ship had reached Egypt due to unfavourable winds. In Egypt, King Proteus, appalled that Paris broke xenia by seducing his host’s wife, and stopped him from leaving Egypt with Helen, effectively putting the fault of Helen’s eloping with him on Paris, and not her.

However, what was Helen’s relationship with Menelaus in the first place? We can only assume it was a partnership of mutual respect at the very least. It’s only circumstantial proof for it, but they ruled Sparta for ten peaceful years before Paris’ arrival. They also had, according to different sources, from one to four children; the one always present is their daughter, Hermione. For an arranged marriage, it seems like the best possible outcome.

The intervention of gods in Helen’s life however, didn’t start with Aphrodite, who offered her as a prize to Paris, but rather with Zeus. While her mother Leda was married to Tyndareus, Zeus laid with her in the form of a swan, while she was also laying with Tyndareus, which she was unaware of. Leda has four children: Clytaemnestra, Helen, Castor and Polydeuces. Out of them, two are told to be mortal while the other two are immortal. (Castor and Polydeuces have their own tragic story regarding their [im]mortality.) Regardless, Zeus was planning to use Helen as means to put an end to the Age of Heroes of greek antiquity with his plan of having the heroes of the time fighting for Helen’s hand in marriage. Said plan failed, thanks to Odysseus’ plan to have the suitors swear an oath to defend Helen’s husband, whoever that ended up to be, from anyone who would quarrel against him or defy the decision. However, the start of the Trojan war proved to decimate the heroic ranks of both sides.

In the end, like many other women of ancient greek myths, Helen is another tragic figure in the game played by gods. The cards are set against her, while she’s greatly unaware of it. Perhaps her story, among many others, is the one that strikes out the most as the greatest case of misogyny in greek mythology. In most cases, it’s at least admitted that Aphrodite makes Eros strike Helen with an arrow so she would follow Paris in Troy without much resistance. In modern times, it can equate to a man dragging a drunk woman to his home, when she’s unaware of her environment and has a lack of agency, taken advantage of, and yet still getting blamed for it, a story that, unfortunately, is so common in our time.


End file.
